If there are two men of the moment in Britain right now they've got to be Star Wars actor John Boyega and multi-Bafta-nominated writer Jack Thorne, so it makes sense that the pair have teamed up for Boyega's West End debut, eh?

Advertisement

Boyega is to star in Thorne's new adaptation of Woyzeck, Georg Büchner's unfinished play based on a real life tale of a poor man who was executed for stabbing his wife, Marie, to death. It's one of a number of productions leading the Old Vic's 2016/17 theatre season, and will be directed by Joe Murphy.

Thorne, who recently adapted JK Rowling's Cursed Child for the West End stage, is also set to pen scripts for the BBC's adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials. Boyega, meanwhile, is currently filming Star Wars Episode VIII, which is due in cinemas in December 2018.

Their take on Woyzeck is just one of the highlights of the 2016/17 Old Vic season. Lisa Dwan will star in the world premiere of Samuel Beckett’s monologue No’s Knife, while Glenda Jackson takes to the stage in King Lear, directed by Deborah Warner, with Jane Horrocks, Rhys Ifans, Simon Manyonda and Harry Melling aka Dudley Dursley.

The season will feature a 50th anniversary celebratory production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard, while the Olivier-nominated Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, written by David Greig and directed by Max Webster, will return over the summer.

More like this
Advertisement

There'll also be a world premiere adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s classic film, Fanny and Alexander, adapted by Stephen Beresford and directed by Max Webster, as well as a new version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, directed by Christopher Luscombe with musical adaptation by Nigel Hess.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement